"Under the bill, an unborn child is "an individual human being from conception [which happens when a sperm fertilizes an ovum] until live birth." While abortion is the primary target of this proposal, this language has the potential to extend beyond abortion and into assisted reproductive technologies, like in vitro fertilization. And the people who very much want to become pregnant may soon find their right to procreate restricted by criminal laws protecting embryos."
"IVF typically involves the creation of embryos that ultimately will not be used to make babies for a host of reasons. Some embryos won't be used because pre-implantation testing reveals chromosomal abnormalities. Some will be rejected because they are unlikely to successfully implant in a uterus and create a viable pregnancy. And still others won't be used because they simply are not needed."
The South Carolina bill defines an unborn child as "an individual human being from conception [which happens when a sperm fertilizes an ovum] until live birth." The definition would expand criminal liability beyond those who "aid and abet" abortions to people who have abortions themselves. The language has the potential to extend into assisted reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization. IVF frequently produces embryos that are not used because of chromosomal abnormalities, low implantation potential, or surplus embryos. Unused embryos may be stored, donated to research, destroyed, or "adopted." Personhood-based laws could criminalize standard IVF practices and restrict procreation.
Read at The Nation
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]